The Trials of the Republic
by Demonbane775
Summary: I leave the tale of the foundations of the mighty and glorious Republic to others. I merely tell the tale of the conflict that followed. (Steampunk Humanized Universe)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1- the Meeting**

**I don't claim rights to MLP or any of its characters. those belong to Hasbro and Lauren Faust. I also do not claim to have created the idea of the New Lunar Republic. The credit for that goes to the creative person who made that. **

**There will definitely be more where this came from. It was very entertaining to write. **

Luna kept her hand on the hilt of Moonbeam as she walked down the hallway. Her armor plates scraped together as she walked, her steel boots making solid thumping noises on the velvet carpet.

The figure sitting on the throne at the end of the hall rose and walked forward to meet her, her long white dress swirling around her.

"Sister! It's been too long!" Celestia said warmly, holding out her arms to Luna for a hug.

Luna grunted in reply.

"First, take the dagger out of your sleeve, dear sister. We do not intend to be stabbed today." she growled.

Celestia's friendly expression melted away, replaced by her normal cold, calculating gaze.

"Well enough, sister." she said. with an expansive gesture, she motioned at a side door.

"Shall we?"

"Thou hast called us here under truce to discuss a treaty, sister. If thou has something to say, say it here and now. we have people to feed."

She gave her sister a piercing glare.

"Something thou wouldest be unfamiliar with."

Celestia gave a chilly smile.

"My people feed themselves." she said.

"They attempt to feed themselves on overfarmed land that has no nutrients for the crops they grow." Luna corrected. "And you deny them the means to replenish the soil while you live in luxury."

Celestia waved a hand. "Petty nits. How long has it been, sister, since you slept in a real bed? How long since you took a warm bath? Do you even remember the last time you washed your filthy hair, sister? "

Luna lifted her chin proudly.

"We hast been fighting on the front line with our men, sister, for the entire war. How long has it been, pray tell, since you last touched that staff of yours?"

"Fighting is for the uneducated and the common folk, Sister. you forgot much in your time banished."

"On the contrary, We learned more than you ever taught that student of yours."

Celestia winced at Luna' carefully placed jab.

"This is foolish. We have business."

"Speak, sister, and we shall hear you. We cannot guarantee we will agree with what you say, however."

"Fine. This is my final offer. Surrender, and give up this tiresome rebellion, and I will not punish you. I will even allow you back in the palace. You will be confined to your room, of course, except when you do your duties in raising the moon, and will be kept under heavy guard."

Luna's upper lip curled in a disgusted sneer.

"This is your gracious offer, sister? to be a prisoner in our own home, unable to help even the few we could before we saw the new way? We think not."

"This is by far the best offer I can make you, Little sister. And I will tell you again, it is the last. If you turn me down, my men will have the order to kill you on sight. And if you are captured, I will personally behead you."

Luna stood tall and proud, staring her older sister right in the eyes.

They had always been more alike than different. Celestia was more traditionally beautiful, with her large chest, narrow waist, and wide hips. Her soft, feminine face boasted a small nose, sharp, small chin, and large, innocent looking eyes. Her iridescent hair flowed over her horn, down her back, between her pearl white wings, tumbling nearly to her bare feet. Her white dress, nearly opaque, flowed across her, showing every one of her curves, the neckline plunging in a V that met just under her naval.

Luna didn't have her sister's curves. her chest and hips were small, even smaller buried in layers of steel plate, as they were now. Her face was the only feature she shared with her sister, the sharp chin, small, upturned nose, large eyes, and pencil-thin eyebrows. Her night-black hair was ragged with long months of sleeping on the dirt, and tangled with blood, sweat, and grass. Even so, it retained a measure of its glory, flowing down her back to her waist.

Luna's body, if not as curved as her sisters, made up for it by being a compact mass of muscle. Her arms were sculpted and rock-hard from swinging her swords, Moonbeam and Lightshaft, and her legs were powerful and corded from leading her armies in charge after charge. Her body had not a scrap of fat on it, every ounce burned in the near-constant fighting.

Celestia was, to contrast, soft and feminine. Her arms were slender, and the not-insignificant bit of thigh that showed through the slit up the left side of her dress was supple and smooth. It was obvious that she had not handled her staff Solaris for quite some time.

Like the Moon and Sun, their father had said when he named them, still wet with the blood of their dying mother.

It was in memory of their father that Luna answered her sister now. Her head held high and proud, meeting the gaze of the woman she had shared her childhood with and considered her best friend in the entire world.

The woman who was now her sworn enemy.

"If we were not willing to face death or worse for what we believe in, we would be a poor leader to the Republic, indeed." Luna said, crossing her arms. "Your threats fall on deaf ears. We will have freedom from your tyranny, sister, even if we must put the noose over our own neck to do so."

Celestia's face hardened.

"What a pity." she said, an opinion that was not echoed in the tone of her voice or in her posture. she turned, dress swirling, and began to walk back to her cushioned throne. "We will crush your pitiful little Republic, and I will have your head on a pike."

Luna nodded curtly, and turned sharply on her heel. As she marched back the direction she had come, she called back to Celestia.

"Twilight Sparkle told me to give you her regards, Sister."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2- The Encampment**

**Time skip- I didn't think the details of Luna's uneventful trip back to the front lines on an airship really needed to be given. **

**Once again, I own nothing but the concept. **

Luna collapsed in her chair, groaning as her protesting muscles made their complaints known.

Twilight sparkle, the only other person in the command pavilion, glanced up from the scroll she was studying.

"How did the talks go?"

"Just splendidly." Luna felt herself entitled to the slightest bit of sarcasm. "Thy teacher is the kindest, most understanding woman we have ever met."

"She's your sister!"

"Our sister is long dead, Twilight Sparkle. The monstrosity that walks the earth in her body is not our flesh and blood." Luna said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

Twilight gave her an inquisitive look.

"We wish things could be different- But this is the way things are now. There is no going back, even for us."

The purple-haired girl nodded comfortingly.

Luna cleared her throat. "Thy brother is well. We saw him guarding the North gate of the palace."

Twilight clapped her hands together in excitement. "That's wonderful! How's Cadence? Are they still planning on having a baby? Oooooh, is it a boy or a girl? did..."

"We did not talk. "

"Oh." Twilight looked slightly disappointed. "I understand."

Luna stood, armor creaking. She hissed in displeasure as her nerves lit up with pain.

"Could thou helpest us remove our armor, Twilight Sparkle?" Luna said, teeth gritted against the hurt.

Twilight stood as well and motioned for her to turn.

"Of course, Princess. You look exhausted."

Luna complied. "Truly we are." she said, twisting her head over her shoulder so she could watch Twilight.

She needn't have worried. Twilight's fingers were deft from years of spellcasting, She quickly had Luna's shoulder pads unlaced and removed, then her chest plates, her gauntlets, forearm and upper arm pieces. Then she began to unlace her chainmail upper. She stopped with a gasp when she noticed a bloody gash in the fine rings, right where Luna's pauldrons jointed with the back of her main plate.

"What is this, Princess?" Twilight exclaimed as she carefully peeled the chain mail away from the wound.

"Ahh, yes. We'd forgotten about that. Your brother did that as we were leaving."

"What? He- Shining Armor stabbed you in the back?"

"No, he gave us a strange look and a hole in our back spontaneously formed." she replied dryly.

"This is a serious wound, Princess!" Twilight said concernedly and she peeled off Luna's shirt. "It's already getting infected..."

"Thou worry about thy own troubles." Luna said sharply, snatching back her shirt and pulling it back on. "'Tis merely a scratch. We shall have the camp medic look at it later."

"Princess, I could see bone..."

"Twilight Sparkle, tend to your own affairs, and leave us to tend to our own hurts." Luna snapped, moving to the cot (Which was little better than a bedroll on a board propped on four sticks) and sitting down to remove the rest of her armor.

"But princess..."

"Tis trivial, Twilight Sparkle."

"It is not!"

"We art fine, Twilight Sparkle."

The edge in her voice warned Twilight it was time to back off.

Luna slid off her pelvis guard, the last piece of her armor, and with a groan, lay down, careful to avoid laying on her wound.

Twilight was back at her desk, now alternating between her scrolls and a large map of the continent she had unrolled across the table. She glanced over at Luna.

"Feeling better, Princess?" she asked quietly.

"Much." Luna replied . "I think we.."

She never finished her statement, as her eyes closed and she drifted off.

When she finally awoke with a start, the light had faded. Twilight had hung a lantern over her work table, which cast it's warm yellow light around the tent.

Luna threw back the ratty blankets that Twilight had apparently scavenged for her while she had been sleeping, berating herself for sleeping so long. She'd only meant to lay down and rest for a fleeting moment. And now she'd slept for over two hours.

Taking a few steps around the table, she realized that the young Magii, too, had fallen asleep. She lay curled up beside her workspace, chest slowly rising and falling.

Luna felt her skin rise in goosebumps as she realized Twilight had removed her shirt and bandaged her wound. She grabbed a sleeveless shirt from the pile of (relatively)fresh clothes on the table and pulled it on. Once this was done, she gently lifted Twilight off the ground and carefully set her on the cot. She pulled up the blankets over the girl's shoulders, cautious of waking her, and left the pavilion as quietly as she could.

Once out in the encampment, she glanced around. they were on the North side of the Neighhagra Lake, occupying an area of nearly a mile in diameter. The 5th, 20th, and 511th Divisions of the Lunar Republic Army, the 8th and 10th Battalions of the Lunar Republic Marine Corp, and the 15th Battalion of the Army Engineer corp. were encamped here, and, along with the few scattered airship and warplane pilots, numbered nearly 40,000 strong. The entire area was a veritable city of tents.

There were many places that probably needed her supervision, but she picked her favorite- the airship decks. She turned north and began to walk towards the bright lights that shone up into the sky, beckoning friendly ships in, and, thanks to the work of Twilight and her fellow Magiius, invisible to those of hostile intent.

As usual, the deck was a bustle of frantic energy, with several airships being unloaded. The one with the most excitement surrounding it was a _Pegasus_ class frigate, with the loading bay doors open and a large amount of horsing around going on in front of them.

Luna walked up next to three men standing at the edge of the fracas, two in Marine fatigues and one in the characteristic leather outfit of an airship pilot. They all turned and snapped to attention at the sight of her.

"At ease, gentlemen." she said, waving down their salutes. "What is the news?"

The pilot responded. "Solar Empire forces are gathering about ten miles down the shore. I flew in pretty close, saw what looked like a delivery of artillery pieces or maybe Ironclads by airship."

Luna winced at the mention of the agile, nearly invulnerable steam-powered contraptions. She'd only been in a few battles with Ironclads, and what she'd seen was not exactly comforting. A single Ironclad could easily decimate an entire division. Their few weaknesses were hardly comforting to the average infantry man, as to place a Model 24 grenade down the barrel or underneath the wheels meant coming within the range of the metal monster's lethal Bredas Machine-guns.

"Have you informed the 15th?" She asked. He nodded.

"They said they'd start placing AAM's around our perimeter immediately." he said.

Luna nodded. There were three ways for her, as a leader, to consider dispatching an Ironclad if she was so unfortunate to encounter one. One, she could call for an airstrike. Two, she could send in a Magii squad to destroy it with magic. or Three, the could have her engineers place Anti-Armor Mines and hope the Ironclad pilot was so unfortunate to encounter one.

Unfortunately, magic was only rarely effective against Ironclads. Solar Magii often equipped them with refractive or even reflective wards before they went into battle, thereby making magic a last ditch attempt...

Luna decided not to worry about possible Ironclads until they showed up.

"Well done-" she glanced at the man's insignia- "Captain Lodestone. We need more men like you."

He blushed lightly. "Aww, shucks, Princess..." he said, scratching his head. "I'm just doin' my job."

"Well, what is being unloaded here?" she asked. she winced as her gesture towards the commotion around the airship upset her wound.

"Are you alright?" one of the marines asked concernedly.

"We art fine." Luna said dismissively. "A mere scratch."

The men nodded understandingly.

"Happens to the best of us." the other Marine said gruffly. Captain Lodestone nodded his agreement.

"Well, we got a shipment of Hickers 32 Machine-guns right off the assembly line, as well as about a hundred new Browns." he said, gesturing towards an assortment of crates at the edge of the pad. "But the real excitement's about what we got from the Changelings."

"What?" Luna asked.

Her question was answered by a flash of green and brown camouflage on steel plate as a truly massive machine rolled down the loading ramp. It stopped less than a meter from her, steam pistons hissing as it released excess pressure from its drive systems. Luna was awed by the sheer power the machine emitted.

The Mark 7 Land Ironclad sat on the stone, the Lunar Republic Insignia engraved on her front end.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3- The Approach**

**Once again, I don't own MLP, or the NLR, blah-ble-blah-ble-blah.**

**Here's where the real fun starts. I'd like to thank GreenRing for offering his OC Saran Bloodcolt, (Who I get the feeling shall be very fun to use) Wiggedy for ****Gizmo Sonota, and Omega 445 for Airis. They will play no small role in this chapter and those to come. Thanks to all who looked at, faved, or, especially reviewed, this story, and those that WILL. I appreciate your input, and I want to hear it. **

**With that aside, FOR THE LUNAR REPUBLIC! (Trips and falls on his face) Ow.**

Celestia yawned boredly.

The war grew tedious. She had expected to crush her sister's rebellion within months, if not weeks, yet here she was, almost a year later, listening to the boring old man in front of her droning an about these casualties and these missing men and this town destroyed by her own troops...

Didn't he realize she didn't care what happened to the commoners? Stupid man.

"Pinkemenia!" she called.

The pink-haired mercenary materialized from the shadows behind her throne.

"Yeah?" she said laconically, leaning against the side of Celestia's throne, stifling a yawn.

"Remove this man from my presence. In an entertaining way."

"Yup." she said, stifling another yawn, and stepping down from the dais. Her posture instantly went from loose and relaxed to lithe and panther like, ready to pounce.

The old man shivered, backing away from the mercenary.

"Please... have mercy, young lady- My grandson is being born today... I was going to meet him."

"Sorry, chum. Orders are orders." Pinkemenia said, shrugging helplessly.

The man gasped, glancing down. Both the mercenary's black katanas were buried in his chest. Pinkemenia had never visibly moved- she was just _There._

She planted a foot on his chest, her skirt rising revealingly, showing a flash of pink lace, before she used her unfortunate victim as a kickboard to launch herself into a somersault, rising impossibly high.

As she jumped, she unlimbered her trademark flamethrower from her back, swinging the sixty-pound weapon into line one handed, and unleashed a spray of liquid fire, the smell of napalm filling the room.

The man screamed, the holes in his chest forgotten as he ran in circles, flailing wildly, a human inferno. Pinkemenia flipped once, twice, and landed in a crouch, skirt billowing. But she didn't stand still long. She launched into the air, flamethrower over her back again, drawing her heavily customized pistol, the bastard son (or daughter?) of a shotgun and a revolver, known colloquially as "the Party Cannon"- a two-foot piece of iron and steel that fired shotgun slugs. Despite apparently only having a six-round capacity, the frankengun never seemed to run out of ammunition. At least, no one had ever seen her reload it, in combat or otherwise.

As she flew, she began firing. The human inferno that had once been Celestia's war minister jerked and juddered as the rain of lead tore through him, merciless and unceasing.

Finally, the succession of gunshots ended and Pinkemenia landed, legs splayed, palm on the ground, waist-long straight hair swinging around her.

The sorry charred piece of flesh that had been a man called Silvermane, father, uncle, son, and grandfather to be, slowly crumpled and fell with a wet squelch.

Celestia clapped and laughed delightedly.

"Oh, well done!" she said. "I'll ad another thousand celestials to your paycheck, just for that!"

Pinkemenia smiled forcedly as Celestia's' servants moved in to remove the corpse, giving the ruthless mercenary a wide berth.

Celestia's smile became even more wicked as an idea came to her.

"Pinkemenia, how would you and your squad like to see some real action?"

"They'd be delighted, ma'am."

"Well, I think I have a mission for you. Just let me call down to the airship decks and have them prepare a transport for you..."

"Cut me a fuckin' break." Pinkemenia growled in frustration. She grabbed the pilot by the hair and violently dragged him out of the cockpit and into the cargo bay. "You are the most irritating, incompetent piece-of-shit pilot I've ever..."

he protested and struggled.

"What are you doing? No- NO!" he screamed as Pinkemenia planted a booted foot on his back and shoved him, hard.

He staggered out the open bay door, arms flailing. his screams faded away as he fell.

Pinkemenia peered after him.

"Did he have a parachute?" she asked absently.

No one answered.

She shrugged. "Eh. I feel sorry for the one who cleans up the mess."

She turned back to her squad mates.

P.A.R.T.Y. (Professional Assassination, Retaliation, Termination, and Extermination- the E had somehow turned into Y at some point...) had four members, counting herself. she pointed at their pilot and machinist extraordinaire, Gizmo Sonolta.

"Gizmo, take the helm. screw the anti-air batteries, we're not going to spend two days going around the damn lake."

"You didn't have to kill him." Airis, their sniper, scout, and spy extraordinaire said sulkily as Gizmo clambered into the pilot's seat.

Pinkemenia ignored her second-in-command, peering out the front viewport as Gizmo turned the _Butterfly_ class cruiser due north.

Pinkie turned her head slightly, a frown creasing her face.

"Airis, belay the dramatics and head for the roof."

Gizmo flicked a few switches. "Incoming flak shells." he deadpanned.

Airis quickly swooped out the bay door and onto the upper deck of the airship.

The upper deck was open to the elements, and only accessible to non-pegusi by a set of wielded ladder rungs on the side of the airship. they weren't meant to be used during flight, but they were accessible if the person in question edged along the small protruding ledge along the bottom of the cabin for about two meters. this method, however, was extremely dangerous and not worth the effort or danger unless it was a life-or-death situation.

"Saran bored." the fourth and final member of the squad said. "Saran want kill something."

Their close-combat specialist was an odd case. No one really knew where he'd come from or what he'd done for a living before he'd joined P.A.R.T.Y.; Pinkemenia had her guesses, and none were pleasant. He was a legitimate psychopath, killing anyone and everything that crossed him or even mildly irritated him. he took a sick pleasure in the pain of his victims, and Pinkemenia was pretty sure he drank blood.

"We'll be there soon, Saran." Pinkie said, tousling his black hair fondly. of all of her squad, he was her favorite. He was uncomplicated. He knew what he wanted, and he got it. deal done. "Then you can have all the fun you want."

He gave a pleased growl, returning to sharpening his combat knife.

Up on the top deck, Airis manipulated the air itself, pushing the flack shells away from the airship. Sending them off course was much easier than just blocking them, and drained much less of her energy.

She fell into an easy rhythm, the air thrumming around her as she bent it to her will, whistling through her ears and in her hair.

Until the violet fireball arced up from the ground below.

It resisted all her efforts to divert its path, even curving around so it seemed to be heading right between her eyes.

She had no choice.

"Brace for impact!" she yelled, and put all her strength into creating a barrier of air between them and the crackling violet flames.

There was a massive explosion. Purple light blinded her, the deep _THOOM_ deafened her, the shockwave blasted her away like a leaf in the wind, tumbling, whirling, twisting, turning. She miraculously did not go over the edge of the deck, sliding to a stop less than a centimeter from a fall that would be more than lethal in her current disoriented state.

she blinked, and then her eyes slid shut as she fell into unconsciousness.

The others inside the cabin of the airship fared little better.

Gizmo cried out a warning, diving out of the pilot's seat, but not quick enough. The viewport exploded, shards of glass turning into lethal projectiles, spinning through the air like jagged Frisbees In one of Saran Bloodcolt's twisted dreams. Gizmo cried out as on shard embedded itself in his cheek, another in his shoulder. Pinkemenia tumbled backwards, taken by the shockwave, headed for the open maw of the bay doors.

she barely managed to grab hold of one of the support rails at the edge, her body from the waist down hanging over 15,000 meters above the ground. Saran tumbled by her, roaring his displeasure.

He caught his hand just before he went over, heart in her throat. She was not losing one of hers.

With a growl, Saran gripped her hand with both of his, and with her help, pulled himself back into the relative safety of the airship.

"Gizmo, report!" Pinkie yelled over the whistle of the wind.

"We've lost all port engines, and two of our stabilizers. Engines Five and Eight are on fire." he yelled back, tugging glass from his shoulder as he checked his instruments.

Pinkemenia made one of her common split-second decisions. she grabbed a parachute and shoved it into Saran's chest.

"Gizmo, put her in a dive! Aim her right at the enemy camp!" she yelled. "Strap on your parachute!"

Saran gave her a questioning look as he cinched the 'chute tight. She gave him no reply except a boot in the chest.

He staggered back, teetered, and went out the bay door with a growl of anger.

Gizmo staggered back into the bay as a loud explosion rocked the ship.

"What are we.."

She grabbed him by his collar and belt and very literally threw him out the bay doors.

She herself slung her chute over her shoulders and cinched it tight over her ribs, and carefully balanced at the edge of the doors. she carefully stepped onto the four-centimeter strip of steel along the outer wall.

As she edge along the wall, chest and stomach sucked in as far as she could, she started to envy Rainbow Dash's B-cup.

As she slowly, excruciatingly made her way, the airship tilted further and further from horizontal and closer and closer to vertical.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, but was probably only about thirty seconds, she was at the rungs of the ladder. she grabbed the seventh rung, planted her boots on the bottom two rungs, and began her ascent, the wind tearing at her as the airship's speed increased, blowing her hair across her face and into her mouth.

Finally, she reached the top deck and hauled herself up. She glanced up at the airship's hydrogen-filled shell, and felt fear tug at her heart as she saw flames licking at the outer shell.

Just then, a nearby engine exploded violently, throwing her like a ragdoll through the air. She hit the deck and started sliding towards the edge.

More from reflex than anything else, she drew her katanas and slammed them through the steel plate of the deck like it was tinfoil. her shoulders were nearly wrenched out of their sockets, but it did the trick. she stopped dead.

Getting to her feet, she ran to where Airis lay, limp and unconscious. Quickly, she tied their harnesses together, hoping that the cord would hold, and, cradling her second-in-command in her arms, staggered for the edge, expecting any moment to hear the _Whoomph_ of igniting hydrogen that would be the last noise she heard in her mortal life.

As she leapt, she heard a crackle, then a deep _THOOM_.

Then, the sound she'd dreaded.

She felt the explosion in her chest, and she felt the flames on her back, smelled the singing hair. her fingers scrabbled across her harness, then found the comforting cold steel ring of the release cord.

She pulled, hard. The _FWUMP_ of the parachute unfolding behind her was the best sound she'd ever heard as they drifted away from the burning, plummeting wreck of the airship.

But something was wrong.

They were going too fast. she'd opened the chute too late.

This was going to hurt.

At the last minute, she released the parachute, and twisted around so her body would protect her teammate from the fall.

She felt it throughout her entire body when they hit the dirt and bounced. she gritted her teeth, refusing to scream, because if she opened her mouth, she'd probably bite off her tongue when they hit next.

She bounced, once, twice, three times. she felt a jagged rock tear her thigh as she slid, and she was pretty sure she'd broken at least one rib, if not more.

Finally, mercifully, she came to a stop. she hurt everywhere, but Airis was safe and unharmed.

She comforted herself with this fact as she drifted into unconsciousness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**The Infiltration**

**Sorry this one has taken me a while to get up. But now I have Christmas break going for me, and I shall be more diligent. **

**Once again, I own nothing except a few OC's. Not even all the OC's are mine. once again, I credit the brave souls who have lent me their chars for this story. Thank you again, GreenRing, Wiggedy, and Omega 445, for your continued support and not-bashing-me-over-the-head-for-my-stupididty-ness.**

**ImnotcrazyImnotcrazyImnotcra zyImnotcrazy BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! (Slaps self)**

**Anyhooo-**

The famer shivered as he walked down the road. It was a cold, moonless night, and his cloak was not nearly enough.

He was trying to hurry home. he'd been gone, fighting in the Solar Empire's army for nearly a year. All he wanted was to get home to see his wife and children.

Sadly, he never would. Three Kunai whistled from the darkness at the side of the road. The farmer, reflexes still at their peak from years of fighting, heard them coming and hit the dirt, rolling out of the way.

He leapt to his feet, hand on his saber's hilt.

A figure leapt out of the dark with a roar, falling on him with bestial ferocity. The saber never made it out of the sheath as blood, sparkling red in the starlight, sprayed from the victim's torn throat.

Salran Bloodcolt stepped back and screamed a victory cry to the heavens, blood dripping from his mouth and down his face. He was truly a terrifying sight to behold, almost gruesomely impressive in his gory majesty, like Discord himself straight out of his eternal hellish prison.

Unfortunately, the only other person in the vicinity was duly unimpressed.

"What exactly was the point of that?" asked Gizmo, sounding slightly exasperated.

Salran was slightly unhappy that his "friend" had interrupted what would be "me time" if he was not a psychopathic killer. As he WAS a psychopath, his name for it was "slaughter time".

"Saran wanted to kill something. So Saran killed something." he said in a slightly exasperated tone, as if he was talking to someone that was a little dense.

"Oh, of course. Why should there be a legitimate reason for ripping someone's throat out with your teeth!?" Gizmo said exasperatedly, throwing his arms up into the air. "No chance we might need FOOD, or MEDICINE, or WATER!"

Salran gestured at the corpse. "Food right here."

Gizmo gave him a laser eyed look. "Food for us NON-psychopaths, please. Did you take your meds?"

"Commander told Saran not to."

"Of course she did." he groaned. "Now I'm stuck trudging through the forest with a cannibal."

Salran's eyes sparkled mischievously at the pilot Magii's frustration. He whipped the farmer's cloak out from under him like a magician whipping a tablecloth from under a vase, and slung it over his own shoulders. Miraculously, there was not a single drop of blood on it.

Gizmo's eyes narrowed. "Have you been taking lessons from Fearless Leader?"

Salran merely chuckled, and flipped up the hood, covering his broken horn and hiding his red eyes.

"Salran knows what's he's doing." he growled.

Gizmo glanced him up and down.

"Passable. Just don't kill anyone, and no one should be any the wiser."

Salran kicked the corpse into the brush at the side of the road, and they began walking.

"Where you think Commander is?" Saran asked.

Gizmo stared at the man for a moment. Was Salran trying to start a conversation?

Finally he answered. "How the hell am I supposed to know? what do you think I am, a psychic?"

"Salran think you irritating man with big mouth."

Gizmo took that as a cue to shut up.

Pinkemenia slowly blinked her eyes, her surroundings coming into focus.

They were still right where they landed, covered by a mass of scraggly shrubs. Airis was still unconscious, her head right on Pinkie's chest. She appeared unhurt.

But Pinkemenia had a big problem.

There was a good-sized blood pool beneath her right leg, where her thigh had been torn by a jagged rock during their landing. I was rather disturbingly big. she shuddered at the thought that she might have bled out and never woken up.

But even without that, she had major issues. There was sand and dirt and mud and grass and Celestia-knew what else in her gash. That could be bad. Very bad. She had no intentions of having to saw her own leg off to keep from dying of infection.

Airis began to move, distracting her momentarily from her own difficulties.

The pegusi opened her eyes to blackness. Confused, she blinked, and reached up to feel her eyes. Her hands came into contact with two pomegranate-sized squishy objects, one on either side of her head. Frowning, she squeezed them gently.

"Having fun there, kid?" came a familiar wry voice.

"Ooooooooooooh!" she yelped as she realized what she was grasping. She jerked her face out of her commander's cleavage.

"Nice to see you back among the living." the pink-haired woman said snarkily.

"Shouldn't we have had a date or two-"

Airis's had fell on something wet and sticky.

"first..."

It was then she realized how badly that her commander was injured.

"Commander, you're bleeding!"

Pinkemenia's laugh was short and painful.

"No kidding. I thought I might be the first one to know, but apparently not."

Airis was speechless.

"Airis- If you really wanna help out, go find where the parachute landed and bring it here."

Airis nodded, saluting. She turned and was about to start sprinting, but Pinkemenia grabbed her pants.

"Hey, kid- take this."

Airis accepted the katana and sheath, staring at her commander.

"But you said you have to pass these on-"

"When I die. I know what I said. And I gave you one, not both, didn't I? Get going before I stick my good foot up your ass."

Airis nodded, backing away slowly. A tear dripped from one eye.

"Commander..."

"MOVE YOUR ASS, BITCH!"

She complied, sprinting away, katana grasped tightly in hand.

Pinkemenia watched her go. She sighed as she heard a growl.

Timber wolves. They always took the sick, the weak, and the crippled. Smiling to herself, she drew the Party Cannon.

She'd teach them a new meaning of the word "Crippled." And it would not involve Pinkemenia Diane Pie as lunch.

Life was a party, after all.

"And what's a party without some guests?" she asked the Timber Wolves as they stalked in, her grin stretching impossibly wide.

A cloaked man and a pilot entered a tavern in the middle of a godforsaken town caught between two opposing armies.

"Why does this seem like the beginning of a really stupid joke?" the pilot asked the cloaked man. the cloaked man grunted.

The tavern was sparsely populated. There were several farmers, a pilot or two, a machinist, and a figure in a cloak that sat alone in the corner, seemingly observing the other patrons.

Gizmo processed all this as he made his way to the nearest empty table, Salran trailing him, quiet as a ghost.

Their progress was halted as a barrel-chested man with black hair got to his feet, standing in their path.

"You're new." he grunted.

"Why yes, yes we are." Gizmo said, smiling at him pleasantly. "I hope you didn't expend a huge amount of brainpower coming to that conclusion. It seems as if you need every drop merely to continue breathing."

The man looked puzzled at the comment, as if unsure what Gizmo meant.

The other man at the table, nearly as large as the other man and sporting a messy head of carrot-orange hair, spoke. his voice was deep, but surprisingly soft and gentle.

"Be careful what you say, stranger. someone might take offense."

Saran met his gaze. The man's green eyes seemed to look right into him, searching his very soul with a pervading calm.

Grimacing, he looked away.

"Big Macintosh, you and your friend stop causin' these here nice folks trouble, you hear me?" a woman's voice made them all jump.

A tall woman was walking towards the table, wiping her hands on her jeans. Her long blonde pony tail swung behind her, coming out from under a brown Stetson cowboy hat. Gizmo gave Salran a glare, and he slid his knife back under his cloak.

The woman had a warm cheerful voice, which was rather contrasted by the stormy look on her tanned, freckled face. "Ah, swear, ah take one trip to the gal's room..." she muttered, pulling out a chair and directing her glare at the carrot topped man.

He glanced down at the table.

"Sorry, sis."

The woman's face became less stormy as she turned to Saran and Gizmo.

"Now, why don't you two sit down and tell us ahbout yahselves?"

It was just then the black-haired man finally figured out Gizmo's insult.

"Hey! You called me stupid!"

With that, he picked up a chair and swung it overhand at Gizmo.

Gizmo's combat reflexes saved him. he blocked the chair's decent, and smashed it back into the man's face, breaking his nose.

There was silence for a moment.

Then the tavern erupted.

Every man in the room jumped to his feet and attacked the nearest person. for quite a few of them, that was Saran or Gizmo.

Salran blocked several clumsy punches, and spun, throwing his cloak into the faces of his assailants. He jumped up onto a table and then leapt onto one unfortunate man, taking him down with a very brutal and efficient body slam. flipping to his feet, he kneed one man in the crotch, then decked him in the face as he doubled over.

Taking up a chair in both hands, he shattered it over the head of the next unfortunate man in line. He took one of the broken-off legs, and, spinning, smashed it over another man's forehead. Dropping the stub, he followed up with a right hook, then an uppercut.

The man's feet actually left the floor before he crumpled to the floor.

Gizmo fared nearly as well. He met a charging man with a spin-kick to the gut, causing the unfortunate man to double over, the air rushing out of him. Lacing his fingers together, Gizmo brought his double fist down on the back of the man's neck, causing him to fall to the floor with a thud.

In a matter of minutes, Salran and Gizmo had cleared the tavern without even breaking a sweat. The only ones still conscious besides themselves were "Big Macintosh" and his sister, who were still sitting at their table, and the cloaked figure in the corner, who hadn't moved an inch.

"Well." The blonde woman stated. "You're obviously not from around these here parts."

**For those of you slavering for more P.A.R.T.Y., I hate to tell you that this is the last you'll see of them for two chapters. Luna shall be back, as shall Twilight and the Land Ironclad. But no worries! P.A.R.T.Y. will be back, and soon the two storylines will merge. Explosively and with all the epic I can muster.**

**If you know me, you know by now that will be quite a lot.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**The Loss**

**Sorry I've been gone so long. Had- Issues. We'll leave it at that. **

**Well, we're back to Princess Luna's side of the pond, And we have an interesting two chapters for you. **

**If you're interested, here's the music I listened to for the typing of this chapter. (**** watch?v=GOuHOReYl9U**)

The air-raid siren blared in Luna's ears, wailing, screaming. Her feet pounded the ground as she somehow managed to run full-tilt through the morass of bustling, yelling, cat-calling soldiers, towards the center of camp, the command center, and most importantly, the six-story tall lookout post.

Captain Lodestone and his two companions followed her, trailing in the path she cleared through the camp.

"Prepare thy weapons!" she called back to the three men following her, and listened to the various clicks and snaps as they loaded and otherwise prepared their weapons.

They soon arrived at their destination. Captain Lodestone signaled the two marines to guard the door, and dashed up the stairway after the princess. Both were at the peak of physical fitness, and neither way in any way weary after sprinting up six flights of stairs.

Reaching the top, they skidded to a halt. There were already two occupants in the lookout tower, both women.

One of them, a slender Pegusi with spiked orange hair, snapped to attention. "Princess!"

"At ease, Air Marshal." Luna said, nodding curtly. "What's the situation?"

"We have an incoming airship, Solar Empire colors." Air Marshal Spitfire replied. "Orders?"

Luna hesitated slightly.

"Bring it down, Air Marshal. Tell the Anti-air batteries to open fire."

"But Princess!" twilight cried. "What if..."

We do not sense any of the Elements aboard that airship, Twilight Sparkle." Luna said. "We cannot risk letting a Solar Empire vessel breach our perimeter on the off chance there art one of thy friends aboard without thy Element."

"But-"

"Give the order, Air Marshal."

Spitfire nodded and tapped the button to open a radio channel to the Fire Control Center.

"Open fire on the incoming vessel." she said calmly.

She herself had qualms about giving the order.

What if Soarin' was on that ship?

Her own friend. The best she'd ever had. Faithful, loyal-

But she had a duty to her Republic and her Princess. And she would fulfill it, no matter the cost.

The four of them watched as the guns began to thump and black blooms filled the sky around the airship. The ship steamed on towards them, seemingly heedless of the danger. Luna frowned.

There was a disturbance in the fabric of the world.

Probing deeper, she felt something unnatural in the undercurrents of magical energy in the area. The air was behaving unnaturally, pushing the shells away.

Her mind raced. Some fiendish new Solar Empire contraption? Dark magic?

There was a solution.

"Twilight." she gestured at the young Magii to come closer. The girl complied, and Luna whispered something in her ear. Twilight's eyes grew wide.

"I can't do that!" she gasped.

"You must." Luna replied. "If you love your Republic, Twilight. If you love me, you must."

Closing her eyes, Twilight began to mutter under her breath, tracing arcane symbols in the air with deft, practiced gestures. The signs glowed and sparked in midair, circling around the purple-haired girl. Beneath her fluttering eyelashes, her eyes began to glow bright white.

Suddenly, the glowing runes lit with purple fire, and all spiraled around her hands, coalescing into a crackling purple fireball.

She turned her face away.

"I- I can't do it..."

"You must."

Tears fell from her eyes. Luan knelt next to the young Magii, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"You can do it, Twilight, You have to do it."

With a scream, Twilight leapt to her feet and flung the fireball at the incoming airship. As it crackled towards the ship, she fell to her knees, sobbing.

"I've never used my magic to hurt anyone before..." she sobbed.

Luna's eyes were kind and understanding.

"War makes us all do things we do not want to, Twilight Sparkle. Dost thou think we enjoy killing? We wouldest have done it ourselves, but we are not strong in combat magic."

Twilight closed her eyes and nodded, tears dripping from her eyelashes and falling down her cheeks.

Luna watched the fireball arc through the air, then explode directly in front of the airship. it was obvious the ship was damaged.

She felt soiled as the ship began to plummet. Had she really just sacrificed her friend and comrade's innocence?

But there had been no choice.

"Princess!"

Luan's head jerked up at Spitfire's shout.

"What is it, Air Marshal?"

"A Solar Empire force is attacking us on our right flank!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**The Battle**

**Sorry for the short last chapter... I may go back and add some more to that. But for now, that's what we've got. Once again, I have a music selection for this chapter for you- ( watch?v=nFgFaS2PZJc) **

**Enjoy. **

**Also, I own nothing used here except Captain Lodestone. **

Luna dashed down the stairs, Captain Lodestone hot on her heels. She needed her armor and her blades. She needed to get up there and fight. She needed to lead her men.

She'd have to hurry.

There was a flash of blue light.

Lodestone shook his head quickly, trying to get his bearings back as Luna dashed about the command pavilion, snatching up armor and strapping it on.

The helmet was still in the wooden chest which she usually kept her armor in, neatly piled. There was no time to find the key. She gave the chest one vicious kick, splitting the wood and shattering the lock. It sprang open, revealing the helmet.

The helmet was equal parts fearsome and awe-inspiring. The rest of her armor had been changed into a new shape when she had become Nightmare Moon; the helmet had never changed one iota.

Slowly, reverently, she picked it up. She was one of the most powerful beings in the world, there was little she had to show reverence to. The armor she wore was one of those. It had been forged in the Time Before Time, in the Twilight Hours, by the Die Alten, whose magic was greater than any that had been or ever would be. They had created the Seven Artifacts of Power, along with the Elements of Harmony. Luna posessed three of the Artifacts, The Armor of the Moon and her blades, Moonbeam and Lightshaft.

She slid the helmet onto her head and glanced around.

Speaking of her blades...

Captain Lodestone held them out to her reverantly, obviously aware of the immense power in the blades.

"My Princess." He said. She nodded to him, gently taking the blades and strapping them over her back.

"Let us show them the mistake they hath made." She said to him, her voice ringing through the faceplate of the helmet like that of some forgotten deity of war.

He stomped his foot and saluted. "YES, MA'AM!" he roared.

A flash of blue light flared above the chaos of the battle, causing the Solar Empire's men to cringe and shield their eyes. A cheer went up among the Lunar Republic Forces as they recognized their princess, her armor burning with furious blue flames, her wings spread in all their majesty, flaring outward in a cascade of night-blue feathers. In all her glory, she appeared as a god, shining like a sun herself as her wings blocked out the true sun. All the soldiers on the battlefield were awestruck.

What few noticed was the Pegasus just off her left wingtip, hovering expertly, sighting in his rifle. The loud crack of a gunshot interrupted the silence.

Accompanying the gunshot was a splatter of gore from the commanding officer of the Solar Empire forces. He crumpled from his perch atop a bolder, where he had been urging his men onward with his drawn saber. His head had been completely obliterated by the fifty-caliber anti-tank round.

There was silence for a moment.

Then, with a scrape of steel on steel, Luna drew her blades. She held Moonbeam high, then pitched it down, pointing it at the Imperial soldiers. Several of them cringed, as if expecting lightning to strike them dead where they stood.

If only their fate had been that kind.

"Engineer battalion, FIRE!" she roared, her metallic voice echoing. About a hundred soldiers stepped to the frontline, shouldering their shotguns. There was a loud _SHICK-SHUCK_ as one hundred shotguns were pumped and the spent shells hit the ground.

The Imperial forces realized what was happening just a moment too late as one hundred shotguns fired at close range. The front line of the Imperial attackers was very literally torn to shreds.

"ATTACK!" Luna screamed. As the two forces charged at each other over the mangled and bloody corpses of the fallen, she herself descended into the fray. This was a battle of the boot knife and the rifle butt, of the pistol whip and the bare saber. This is where her soldiers excelled-

As did she.

She began to dance, blades slashing and stabbing and ripping and tearing. It was a sight both beautiful and terrible to behold, a dance of steel and blood that was both brutal and elegant. None could stand before her, any feeble resistance she met was easily swatted aside. For Luna, time slowed to a crawl where, if she wanted, she could easily have caught a flying bullet between her fingers.

She could feel the Nightmare rising inside her, begging to be unleashed, crying to kill. But she pushed it down.

And she continued her dance.

It was not long before the survivors of the Imperial 23rd infantry battalion threw down their arms and surrendered.

Luna stood in the center of the battlefield, her chest heaving with sobs.

She snatched her helmet from her head and threw it to her feet. Tears coursed down her cheeks as she slowly knelt in the bloody morass of mud and gore. She could hear the victory cries, the celebratory laughter of her men.

But there would be no laughter for her tonight.

When would the violence end? Was she truly any better than the monster her sister made her out to be? She recalled Twilight Sparkle's tears, the shattered innocence of the one person in this world she could truly count as a friend in this world.

She could see many men in the Lunar Republic winter fatigues among the dead. Her men. It wars inevitable in war.

War never changed, did it?

Sadly, she recognized faces among the Imperial dead as well. That man there had been a guard on the third floor corridor, just outside her room. She'd said hello to him every evening for years, even talked to him about his family. That man there had owned a bakery on the edge of Cantalot, the best in the city. She'd visited every Saturday, talked to him.

How many more would die?She wondered. How many more lives would her sister throw away in her quest for power?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**The Return**

**MORE P.A.R.T.Y, GUYS**

**This chapter is Pinkie and Airis. Next one is Gizmo and Saran. **

"**War is the Answer" by Five Finger Death Punch was my music for this chapter. (Full album, not just the song)**

**I OWN NOTHING!**

Airis burst through the brush, flying top speed.

She stopped dead as the dual barrels of the Party Cannon swung to point right between her eyes.

She touched down slowly, hands in the air.

Pinkemenia's eyes were wide, pupils dilated. Her chest heaved. Her gaze was unfocused, and the hand that was not clamped firmly on the pistol grip of the Party Cannon was trembling.

Airis had seen this before.

Judging by the numerous Timber Wolf corpses scattered around, Pinkemenia had been taken by the Bloodlust. Airis was lucky she hadn't been shot down like a clay pigeon on a skeet-shooting range.

"Commander." She said, slowly and clearly. "I got what you asked for."

Pinkemenia's eyes flicked down, then back up. The insane smile on her face didn't budge an inch. Neither did the Party Cannon.

Airis slowly and carefully set the parachute down, purposely using over-exaggerated movements. She had folded it into a neat triangle as soon as she'd found it.

Pinkemenia's eyes flicked down to the cloth, then back up.

And with a tiny sigh, she keeled over with a soft thud.

Airis rushed to her commander. Pink had bled even more while she'd been gone. Her already pale skin had lost what little color it had, becoming a dead white.

No matter how badly Airis wanted to stop the bleeding, she had to clean the wound first. Infection was a bigger killer than bullets themselves. Airis rolled Pinkemenia onto her stomach. She then pulled her canteen out and poured water directly into the wound, washing all the dirt and mud and assorted crud off the raw flesh. Once she was sure all the pine needles and various other shit was gone, she tugged a small flask out of her belt.

She stared at it mournfully for a moment before unscrewing the cap and tipping it on its side, allowing an amber stream of liquid to soak into the gash.

Sighing at the loss of the whiskey, she turned to the recovered parachute. Drawing her combat knife with a flourish, she cut a long strip and set it aside.

Oooh.

This was going to be awkward.

Carefully, she reached around Pinkemenia's body and unbuttoned her pants. Her face flushed a deep red as she carefully peeled her commander's pants down her legs.

She REFUSED to look at the ass currently positioned right in front of her face, and began to wind the strip of cloth around Pinkemenia's leg.

Head out of gutter. Back to task at hand. Her flush grew an even deeper red.

Why the thigh? Why not the forearm or hand or somewhere completely non-sexual?

Well, now that she thought about it…

Damn it.

Those pink lace panties didn't help in the least.

Why did the Commander have to have such a nice ass, dammit?

FOCUS.

Finally, she was done. She tied off the bandage and (rather hurriedly) pulled Pinkemenia's pants back up and buttoned them.

She thanked Celestia that she hadn't had to bandage the chest area and-

She could still see it.

Those pants couldn't be that tight.

She could still see Pinkemenia's ass.

Buck it.

She tore her eyes away and moved to flip Pinkemenia back over- and met a pair of ice-blue eyes.

Airis grinned nervously.

"Good to see you made the party, kid." Pinkie said, a smirk curling her lips. Sitting up, she ran her hands over her thigh. "Nice work on the bandage. I can barely tell it's there."

Airis nodded.

"It was easy."

"Sure it was." Pinkie replied, her smirk widening.

Using a boulder to brace herself, Pinkemenia got to her feet. Her legs shook a little, but she stood.

"Commander!" Airis said, shocked. "You shouldn't-"

"Who's in charge here, kid?"

"You, ma'am. But…"

"No buts. I'm coming out of these woods on my own two feet or I'm not coming out at all."

With that, she scooped up the Party Cannon and started to walk away, shoving the weapon under her coat as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Airis stood in the middle of the carnage, realizing just then how many corpses were scattered around.

"You better come on if you're comin', kid!"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

Airis ran to catch up with her wonderfully insane commander.

"What happened back there?" she asked.

"They attacked me. I killed them."

"There were over twenty corpses!"

"You miscounted."

"What?"

"There were about thirty."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**The Lost**

"So, y'all fall from the sky, or what?" The blonde girl crossed her arms under her breasts.

Gizmo chuckled. "Nah. We're ex-mil." He lied easily, not wavering for an instant. "Me and Sol here, we're just comin' home from the Army."

He didn't specify WHICH army, of course. He didn't know what sympathies this particular tiny town had. So it was best to let them assume whichever they wanted.

"Which branch? Come on, now, shugah, we wanna hear a story. Ah'm sure ya got plenty."

_Shit._

Gizmo's mind raced. He flicked his eyes about the room, searching for any kind of clue…

The corner of that poster. It was mostly covered by the various flyers, posters, and various other things- But there was the New Lunar Republic crest.

"The Panthers." He said, grinning confidently. "I was the demolitions expert for the squad, and Sol was the Close-combat specialist."

The blonde girl seemed to buy it. "We don't see too much action out here… Ah didn't catch your name?"

"I never said. Lance. Lance Scale."

"Seems more like a Dragon's name than a Magii's."

"Dumbass parents. What can I say?"

"Ah'm Applejack. Most folks call me AJ. This here's mah big brother Big Macintosh, but we just call him Big Mac."

"You seem like a big, strong guy. Why didn't you sign up for the Republic?" Gizmo asked.

AJ answered for him.

"There's always work to be done up at Sweet Apple Acres. Big Mac an' I do all the work. It's not like we could expect ol' Granny or little Applebloom 'ta buck apples an' haul fertilizer."

Gizmo's brow furrowed.

"Hold on a second. Applejack?"

"That's mah name."

"Weren't you one of the Elements?"

Applejack froze. A strange expression flashed across her face.

"What's it to ya?"

"I- I just wondered."

"Yes. Yes Ah was. So?"

Gizmo was baffled.

"There's no need to get all defensive about it- You're a hero! You-"

Oops.

AJ and Big Mac stared at him like he'd just grown a pair of moose antlers. And had painted the Solar Republic's Sun across his chest. And started dancing like a rabid squirrel.

"Ah, shit." He muttered. "Serves me right for opening my big mouth."

Pinkemenia jerked her head up.

"Gizmo and Saran. They're in trouble."

Airis glanced at her and nodded. Grabbing the bucket, she doused the fire. Both women threw the remains of the fish they'd worked so hard to catch into the ashes.

Airis took to the skies with a few beats of her powerful wings. Pinkemenia leaped upwards, wrapping both hands around a sturdy branch, and pulled herself up.

Airis glanced at her commander.

"You sure you can keep up with me?"

Pinkemenia smirked, crouching on the branch like a panther preparing to pounce.

"The question, Airis, is if YOU can keep up with ME."

She was off like a shot, leaping from branch to branch, swinging, leaping, and pinballing between tree trunks with speed that bordered on supernatural. Airis followed, ducking, diving, and spinning midair.

True to Pinkemenia's word, she did find herself having trouble.

"How the hell are you doing that!?" she shouted.

Pinkemenia turned back and grinned at her without even breaking stride, flashing razor-sharp teeth.

"Magic."

Gizmo backed up to the wall.

"He-he- Sweet girl like you, doesn't want to fight two big strong guys like us, right?"

She cracked her knuckles.

"The buck I don't. Solar Empire scum."

"I thought- The Mane Six were on our side!"

"The hell I am."

"You're the ones that expelled Luna!"

"And I regret it every day of my life, Solar Bastard."

"Why?"

"Because we unleashed hell, that's why."

"But…"

"Enough talk. Time ta die."

Gizmo ducked the expected punch only to get a boot to the genitals. His eyes bugged and he doubled over. Applejack kicked him in the side of the head, and he tumbled to the side.

Salran growled, cracking his knuckles.

"Salran kill puny girl."

"Have your shot." She hissed, wrapping her right hand around the golden-chained necklace she wore.

Salran threw back his hood, grinning widely, eyes sparkling. At least, until a strange orange light shot out from between Applejack's fingers.

She leapt into the air, directing a spin kick at Salran. Salran ducked and rolled, popping up and punching her in the back of the head with enough force to stop a raging bull dead in its tracks. Her long ponytail swung as she jerked forward, stumbling and starting to fall.

Salran's smirk morphed into an expression of confusion as she caught her balance again and whirled.

She was the one smirking now.

"Problem, partner?"

Salran hissed. Bounding back, he drew three black Kunai from inside his cloak and sent them arcing at Applejack. She put up a forearm, and all three of the knives bounced off her seemingly smooth and vulnerable skin.

Growling, he drew his pistol. A Wharther P-34, the pistol had a twelve-shot magazine, and could change from semi-auto to three-round bursts or fully automatic with the flip of a switch. Leveling the gun at the woman in front of him, he pulled the trigger.

The sound of the gunshot was followed by a loud _Ping_, as if the bullet had hit a sheet of steel. Applejack stumbled back a few steps, but regained her balance easily.

"Done yet?"

Hissing, he flipped a neat little switch next to the trigger.

The little gun blared, firing off all of the remaining 11 rounds in its magazine in less than a second. The recoil jerked the barrel up, and the bullet's impact was visible as they pierced Applejack's shirt in a line leading from her abdomen up to her neck.

The only thing it seemed to accomplish, however, was to ruin her button-up shirt. The tanned skin underneath was seemingly untouched.

Salran holstered the gun.

This might hurt a little bit.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**INFINITY**

**I do apologize for the extended absences, but I'm sort of back now. I have a computer in my room, so I can type some stuff now. **

**This chapter leaves the format I've set before now (2 chapters, NLR, 2 Chapters PARTY, ect.) to cover some of the stuff that I know some of you might be confused about. The past of the Mane Six and how they got where they are now, to be exact. Also, I'm going to reveal the locations of Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. **

**This chapter is sort of depressing, so if you're easily brought to tears or suicidal, I'd advise against reading this chapter. It's not absolutely crucial, but you might get a little confused if you don't read it. **

Fluttershy stared at the sun setting over the forest. The ancient ruins crumbling around her seemed an appropriate metaphor for how her life has crashed to pieces around her not even three years ago.

The figure beside her placed a comforting hand on her back.

"Hey. You okay?"

Fluttershy glanced into her friend's yellow eyes. Those eyes used to creep her out, but she'd gotten used to them over three years. The man grinned sheepishly at her.

"What? Is my hair messed up or something?" He ran a hand through his distinctive skunk-striped black and platinum hair.

Fluttershy giggled.

"No. I was just- thinking."

"Ah." He glanced down. "About what?"

"You know- um- before all this happened."

She blushed.

Discord glanced at her.

"Yeah. Me too."

"Do you- umm-"

"Do I have the nightmares? No. I don't dream. But I've heard you in your sleep."

The nightmares.

Fluttershy wished she could call them that.

But they were all too real.

No, they weren't nightmares.

They were memories.

* * *

Rainbow Dash grabbed her arm.

"Fluttershy! We have to go! Something's wrong!"

Fluttershy squealed and pulled her blankets up around herself.

"Dashie! I'm not dressed yet!"

Rainbow threw a sweater and a pair of jeans at her with uncharacteristic force.

"Get dressed then! We have to go!"

Fluttershy nervously swung her legs out of the bed, holding her blankets over her chest and pulling her pants on with one hand.

Rainbow snorted.

"Come on, Fluttershy! It's not like we've never seen each other naked!"

Fluttershy muttered indistinctly, but quickly pulled on a tank top. Before she could grab her sweater, however, Rainbow grabbed her hand.

Fluttershy had never seen Rainbow scared before. But here she was. Shrunken pupiled, flared-nostril, sweaty-palmed terrified. Rainbow was holding Fluttershy's hand far too tight, but Fluttershy didn't cry out. Instead, she gently squeezed back, to let Rainbow know she was there and she wouldn't leave her.

No matter what.

They burst out the door. A Magii in a blue uniform that Fluttershy had never seen before (The man or the uniform) joined step with them.

"That's your marefriend?" he said quietly, his eyes flicking back and forth as they speed-walked towards a navy-blue miitary scout car with a strange insignia on the door.

"Yeah. This is Fluttershy." Rainbow said, squeezing her hand possessively. Fluttershy didn't complain, keeping her head down and her mouth shut.

The man straightened his hat on his blue and black hair, then opened the car's back door for the two of them .

They climbed in. Fluttershy glanced at the open back to see another man , this onewearing military fatigues, manning a machine=gun mounted directly over them.

'Um, Rainbow?" she whispered. "What- What's going on?"

Rainbow Dash stared at her.

Then, wrapping her arms around her, Rainbow buried her head against Fluttershy's shoulder and began to cry.

Fluttershy meeped, unsure how to handle this situation. Rainbow was always the one that stayed strong.

Tentatively, she began to stroke her friend's rainbow-dyed head. "Umm, there, there. It's going to be okay."

"No, it's not." Rainbow sobbed. "Fluttershy, I saw the library burning. Twilight's dead. I think Applejack and Rarity are too."

Fluttershy froze in shock.

"Wh-wh-what?"

"They're dead, Flutters. I just know it."

"Wh-what about Pinkie?"

Rainbow's head shot up. Hatred burned in her eyes.

"She was with _THEM._"

"W-with who?"

"The Imperial soldiers. Pinkie had a flame thrower. She's the one that burned the library, and the boutique. The soldiers shot Applejack. I saw it, she just… crumpled."

Fluttershy was stunned. It was too much to take. She couldn't evenjn begin to understand, to wrap her head around it.

All her friends… Gone.

Just like that.

"No… What if.." Fluttershy tried to deny it. She found that the words stuck in her throat. She couldn't speak. Soundless tears trickled down her cheeks, splashing onto Rainbow's hand.

She'd already lost Discord.

Why?

Why, in the name of Celestia, why did this have to happen to her? What had she ever done to deserve this?

There was a deafening deep THUD, and Fluttershy screamed as the car suddenly was flipping end-over –end, then hit the ground and polled. The crunch and tear of metal scraping and crunching surrounded her. She was thrown forward, and she felt her head slam into something warm and soft, then a warm sticky liquid splattered on the back of her neck. She was nearly deaf, the explosion still ringing in her ears.

The car came to a stop- miraculously upright- and Fluttershy slumped.

Her hearing slowly came back. She could hear a man yelling "Run for cover! Run for cover!" another crying out for help, and a familiar voice coughing and choking.

Rainbow Dash!

Fluttershy turned to her companion.

Rainbow's entire front was splattered with blood, and she was coughing up yet more.

Fluttershy's eyes widened in horror.

"No… No…" she whispered. She was immediately dulled to her own injuries.

She knelt over Rainbow, stroking her hair, gently pressing on her chest and stomach to try to figure out what was wrong. Rainbow whined quietly when Fluttershy laid her hands on her lower abdomen.

Injured organs and internal bleeding.

Fluttershy's tears fell thick and fast as she mentally pronounced her best friend and lover's death sentence.

"It's going to be okay, Rainbow." She sniffed. "Everything's alright. I'm here."

Rainbow Dash's purple eyes stared at her, going in and out of focus.

"F-Fluttershy…"

"The ambulance will come." She lied, her tears splashing on Rainbow as she gently probed her midsection. "It'll all be okay."

"It- It hurts so bad…"

"Miss Fluttershy!"

It was the man from before.

"We have to go! We've dealt with these ones, but there'll be more!"

Fluttershy snapped.

"I'M NOT GOING TO LEAVE HER HERE ALONE!" she screamed, and the man took a surprised step back.

"Yes, ma'am." He said softly, removing his hat and backing away quietly.

Fluttershy gently leaned over Rainbow and kissed her forehead.

"Do you remember the time we got lost in Manhattan during Hearth's Warming?" she whispered.

"Yeah…" Rainbow croaked. "We had to get a hotel room with your credit card…"

"And you got me so drunk, I couldn't see straight." Fluttershy giggled. "And when we got on the bed, I fell asleep on top of you before you even got my shirt off."

Rainbow chuckled. "And then you woke up at 2:30 in the morning and hurled all over me."

Fluttershy smiled, and slid herself into the seat next to Rainbow Dash.

"We'll have to go again some time."

Rainbow smiled and lay her head on Fluttershy's shoulder.

"Yeah…."

They sat there for a few minutes before Rainbow Dash finally took her last breath.

_To Be Continued…_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 **

**Eternity**

**Mah life's a bit of a shit-storm right now. **

**Forgive me if chapters aren't uploaded as quickly as planned, But rest assured I'm still working on it. **

Fluttershy held back her tears as she ran after the soldier. Now was not the time to mourn.

Gunfire shredded the trees and low-growing shrubs behind them. she ignored it, listening only to the beating of her own heart and the pounding of her feet on the ground.

_Don't trip, don't trip, don't trip..._

_Keep going! Don't stop!_

Something wrapped around her waist and lifted her up. She cried out, kicking and punching, and she and her captor crashed to the ground and rolled, tumbling down a hill and into the Everfree.

Why the Everfree? Why?

Now was not the time. Fluttershy kicked backwards, landing a solid hit on...

"OW!"

Discord.

"Oh, Discord, I'm so sorry..." she squeaked. "I- I..."

He staggered to his feet, grasping his injured...

He-he.

Fluttershy flushed bright red and glanced away.

"Sorry..."

"For such a sensitive girl- You can sure kick like a mule." he groaned.

""Wh-what did you grab me for?"

"I was trying to help you. Fat lot of thanks it got me."

Fluttershy flushed even brighter.

"S-sorry..."

* * *

_Dark. _

_Cold._

_Rainbow Dash shivered, hugging herself in an effort to keep her naked body warm. But it was no use. The cold penetrated all. There was no escape. Nowhere to hide. Nowhere to run. Her own body, she discovered, was covered in frost crystals, the sparkling crystals of frozen water forming beautiful crystal tattoos all over her thighs, stomach, arms, and breasts. She shivered uncontrollably, her feet buried in a foot-thick layer of snow. _

_"Wh-where am I?" she asked no one in particular. _

_"Where are you?" a woman's voice echoed across the empty plain of snow. A light, airy chuckle filled the air. "Why darling, you're dead. Didn't you know?"_

_"I-I'm dead?" _

_"Yes. You died in a simply tragic accident involving a road mine and your dear friend Fluttershy."_

_"Flutters-shy? Is s-she alright?"_

_"No need to be alarmed. You were miraculously the only casualty."_

_Rainbow Dash comforted herself with this tidbit of information as she stood in the cold. That cold..._

_"W-who are you?"_

_A part of the shadows swirling over the snow seemed to rise and coalesce into a human form. a black horn sprouted from her forehead, tattered black wings hung from her back. a thin black shift covered her form, but as it was next to translucent, it did little to hide her body. _

_"Darling." the woman said. her face remained a blank, shifting mass of shadow. "I am Death. You have come to my kingdom because you are dead."_

_Rainbow stared into the woman's face. she caught glimpses of many faces... There was her mother, who had died years ago... her big brother, killed in a flying accident when she was only a baby... hundreds of others, from faces she'd known and loved to those she'd only caught as a glimpse. _

_"Try not to look to deep into my face, dear." Death said. "Many have become lost, never to return from the depths of my despair."_

_"Your dis-spair?"_

_"Of course. Did you think I enjoy seeing all these mortals die? That I take their souls as some kind of game? I feel all of their pain. Every death, every broken bone, every cut, every severed limb..." _

_She bent down close. _

_"Every ruptured organ..."_

_It was at this point Rainbow Dash felt pity for this woman. _

_"Wh-hat did you ever do to deserve this?"_

_"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. This is what I was made to do. So I do it."_

_"L-let me s-share your burden."_

_Death stopped and stared. _

_"You would- do that? You? A mere mortal?"_

_"I-It's what any decent pers-son would do."_

_Death was silent. _

_"You are certain you wish to do this?"_

_"I am."_

_"You would free me from my burden? Even for a brief moment?"_

_Rainbow Dash hesitated only a fraction of a second. _

_"Yes."_

_Death seemed to shrink slightly._

_"Alright then... If you are sure..."_

_Rainbow Dash suddenly crumpled. She couldn't even scream. The pain was impossible to comprehend, the suffering, the anguish... she felt as if she would be lost in a river- No, a sea- of pain and suffering. _

_She gritted her teeth. _

_"How-do you-do-this?" she grunted._

_Death was beside her, a gentle hand on her shoulder. _

_"Find peace."_

_Rainbow Dash felt through the endless pain, finally grasping something..."_

_An old man, quietly breathing his last. No pain, no sorrow, simply- acceptance._

_Death smiled at her. _

_And it was all gone again. Death staggered visibly as she shouldered the burden once more. _

_"Even if it was only for the briefest moment- I am eternally in you debt, Rainbow Dash. For giving me- the smallest reminder of what it is like to live."_

_"It's no problem at all." Rainbow gasped, struggling to her feet. _

_"I suppose I should thank you somehow. You will be leaving me shortly, anyway."_

_"Really- It's not- Wait. Leaving you?"_

_"Of course. You are being re-awakened from my cold kiss, even as we speak."_

_"By who?"_

_"I do not know. My sight does not extend into the mortal world."_

_Rainbow sighed. _

_"What if you promise to send back one of my friends if they ever die?"_

_"That is but a small price to pay for the kindness you have showed me. Agreed."_

_Rainbow Dash wrapped her arms around Death, hugging her tight. Death, despite her surprise, hugged her back. _

_"When I come back- I'll take half of your burden." Rainbow Dash said. "No one should have to do what you do alone."_

_Death stroked Rainbow's hair in a motherly fashion. _

_"That would be- wonderful, Rainbow Dash."_

_Her voice seemed to fade as Rainbow started to feel warmth in her body again. _

_"Simply wonderful."_

* * *

Rainbow Dash gasped as she came to her senses. her limbs were cold, and seemed unresponsive. She tried to lift her right arm. It was slow and sluggish to respond.

A soft feminine hand gently pushed her arm back down.

"Hush now. That's the Saline solution you're feeling, we had to pump you full of it to keep you from rotting while we figured out how to bring you back."

"Wh-who are you?"

The woman giggled.

"Why, Rainbow Dash, being dead for two years must have muddled your brains! I'm Princess Celestia, of course!"

Rainbow suddenly had a very bad feeling...


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Deity**

_**THREE YEARS LATER...**_

Rainbow Dash knelt before the throne. There was a bitter taste in her mouth.

She knew that she would be punished. The question...

Was how?

"Empress..."

"Be quiet." Celestia's voice was cold and unfeeling. Rainbow Dash felt any hope she had had for mercy flitter away like a leaf shredded in the winds of a hurricane. "I don't need to explain to you what you've done, Wing Commander. You know full well what trouble you have sewed."

"Of course, Empress. And.."

"Shut up."

She didn't yell it. Celestia never yelled, or raised her voice in any fashion. But the cold fury in her tone was more intimidating than any scream.

Rainbow Dash had heard that tone before. it was usually followed by an even colder "Take it away." This prompted the Royal Guardian to sieze the poor victim by the scruff of the neck and drag them to the dungeon for- "Penance."

But this didn't happen. Instead, she uttered- "Bring out the Wing Commander's... Incentive. Perhaps a little jogging of her memory is required."

Rainbow Dash jerked her head up, eyes wide in terror.

"No- Please- Do what you want to me, but leave her alone!"

Her words were of no effect.

"You failed me, Wing Commander. I told you very clearly... Hire me an assassin to intimidate Lady Rarity into submission and make her give up her compatriots. You hired an incompetent who alerted her to the fact we had caught on and caused her to flee. He failed. And his incompetence and failure are transferred to you."

The Guardian dragged a young girl into the room and dropped her directly in front of the throne, right before Rainbow Dash.

"Scootaloo!" Rainbow's voice broke as she began to sob. "No... You can't!"

Scootaloo was completely quiet. There was not a tear in her eyes.

And, looking into the girl's eyes, Rainbow could tell that Scootaloo knew just as well as Rainbow Dash what came next.

The Guardian pulled a bullwhip from a clip on his belt.

"On your knees, girl!" Celestia said sweetly. "I won't lie to you. This is going to hurt. And I'm going to relish every second of it."

Scootaloo obeyed, stripping off her shirt and covering her chest with her arms.

"Ready... Begin!"

"One!" The Guardian counted.

_Whit-CRACK!_

"Two!"

_Whit-CRACK!_

"Three!"

_Whit-CRACK!_

"Four!"

With each strike, Rainbow rocked on her knees, sobbing and begging, hands clenched, crying out at each CRACK!

But the girl whose back was being flayed into strips by the Guardian's whip uttered not a cry. Not a whimper. Besides the occasional _Umph_ at a particularly vicious strike, Scootaloo made not a sound.

Celestia pondered this. If ever the opportunity came, it might be advantageous to- Replace- the Wing Commander with this girl...

If only this girl didn't have the stubborn determination she did, it might actually work. But that stubbornness was a double edged sword for Celestia, while Rainbow Dash made a very good blunt object.

Celestia sighed. This was beginning to bore her now. So little could hold her attention for long, now. It was beginning to irritate her. she would pick up a book, and begin to read- and within the hour, the book would cease to captivate her interest. Not even men could entertain her, after she'd summarily executed her last consort, she hadn't even bothered to get a new one. And even when entertaining herself, she would feel her interest slipping away.

There only seemed to be two things left that held her interest- clashing armies with her sister, and visiting her former betrothed's grave.

Either of these she could do for hours at a time.

She raised a hand.

"Enough."

The Guardian glanced at her in confusion, whip raised at the count of Twenty-five.

"Mi 'lady, you called for fifty lashes."

"Enough. This bores me."

The Guardian, who was a much more intelligent man than his three predecessors, understood that these three words were synonymous with "Shut up before I decide to feed you to the crows" and stowed the whip.

"Yes, mi 'lady." He dragged the girl to her feet. "Come along, girl... The medics will see to your back..." he whispered as soon as they had left Celestia's earshot.

This left Celestia alone with her sobbing, trembling Wing Commander.

"On your feet." Celestia commanded, her voice hard and cold as ice. Rainbow Dash stood up, her eyes red with tears, face flushed.

"I've been lenient with you 'till now, because I knew you were still adjusting to your new... Situation. But from now on, I will have no mercy for you. If I even begin to suspect you are a Republic sympathizer... Well..."

She smiled cruelly.

"Your little friend might loose a few... Extraneous bits."

She waved a hand.

"You are dismissed."

Rainbow Dash offered no salute. She merely turned and walked from the throne room.

Scootaloo gasped as the Guardian dragged her through the hallways.

She hurt. She hurt in ways she'd never imagined she could.

"I'm sorry, lass." she heard a warm, friendly voice say softly. "I tried to hurt you as little as I could, but I had ta make it look real for the Empress, see."

Scootaloo coughed.

"It's alright, Wildfire." she gasped. "Your position is more important than a few scars."

Wildfire was secretly a part of the Resistance. He'd explained that they were part of neither the Republic or the Empire, but a small group of rebels that wanted to enact a democratic government. From what Scootaloo had gathered with her own ears and been told by Wildfire, the Resistance was much more successful then the Republic at infiltrating both organizations. Spitfire was a high-level Resistance member, as was Lady Rarity. As of yet, the Resistance had passed off much of their work as that of the Republic, keeping Celestia clueless to their existence.

Wildfire jokingly called Scootaloo an "Honorary member" but she was determined, as soon as she was a little older, to escape Celestia's grip and become part of the Resistance herself.

Only five years until she was eighteen.

She chuckled to herself. Five years.

Hopefully the war would be over by then.

"Here, lass, stand up. Lean on me shoulder." Wildfire said. She complied, with his help, pulling herself to her feet. she wobbled slightly, but with his help, began to walk shakily.

"Thanks." she winced. "Suppose it's a good thing Her Highness has the attention span of a gnat."

"It is at that." Wildfire agreed. "Here we are."

"Oh, Wildfire, what did that bitch make you do now?"

"Hullo, Redheart. Careful how you speak about Her Majesty, now. The wrong person might have a pair of ears that are just a tad too sharp." He transferred Scootaloo to the medic carefully. "Twenty-five lashes, would have been fifty had she not been distracted."

"That bitch." Redheart growled. "If I ever get my hands on her, I'll..."

"Not blow your cover." Wildfire said gently. "Stay calm. Think happy thoughts."

Redheart flushed. "Of course. I'm sorry. It's just..."

"Don't worry about me." Scootaloo chimed in. "I don't look like it, but I'm tough."

At thirteen years old, most girls were developing breasts and hips. Not Scootaloo. She was wiry, not a scrap of fat on her body. Not because she was starved. Wildfire always made sure she had enough food- and she ate like a rabid wolverine. She just didn't seem to hold onto fat.

Despite her delicate appearance, there were a lot of guards. Wildfire had only taken custody of her for the last year- and in the two years before that, she'd been beaten many a time. her body bore the scars of mistreatment by the Imperial Army's most sadistic members. If nothing else, she had learned how to take a hit.

She'd used to hope that Rainbow Dash would swoop in, pistols blazing, and rescue her... but as she grew older, she began to understand that her adoptive big sister and hero was as much a prisoner as she was. Maybe even more so.

At thirteen years old, Scootaloo would consider herself a grown woman in mind, if not body. She understood things she realized most people didn't think she did. Like the lashes on her back- while they hurt, she could tell they were little issue. Wildfire knew how to make things look bad while still leaving his intended victim mostly intact.

While Redheart bustled around, going on about how it wasn't as bad as it looked, and warning her about disinfectant stinging, and about how awful she was sure Scootaloo felt, Scootaloo allowed herself a small smirk. Redheart was one of the many people that still thought of Scootaloo as a kid.

She lay still and thought about what life would be like when she had escaped.

Celestia knelt in front of the statue and placed the flowers at its base.

The man the statue portrayed would have laughed at the gesture. "Oh, Tia. What do you expect me to do with these? Eat them?"

She could almost hear his voice.

"Why did you have to leave me?" She asked the stone. "Why did you leave me all alone?"

As always, the stone was cold and unresponsive.

Celestia resisted the urge to break out in tears. her guards were still with her. She had an image to maintain.

"Dismissed." she said.

The guards nodded. Saluting, they spun on their heels and marched away.

As soon as they were gone, Celestia released her control. The tears fell thick and fast, but she made no sound as she stared at the stone carving of the only person in the world that ever understood her.

"Why?" she asked in a choked voice. "Couldn't you have stayed with me?"

As always, the stone was silent.

For years, the statue that had contained the flesh and blood of the real man had stood in this exact spot. Celestia could have released him at any time, and they could have been together...

But no, she'd merely come here every day, laying flowers like she did now, hoping that something, some part of the man that was inside could see her and knew that she still loved him, despite it all. But life was a cruel bitch, and only just as they'd finally been able to lie in each other's arms again, he was stolen from her once more...

This time, taken by sickness and sent to eternal sleep.

She and her best doctors had done their greatest work, trying to find what it was that he had contracted, and save his life. But his own chaotic magic had run rampant through his riddled body, and the sickness changed every time they thought they had it pinned down.

Celestia had never had a chance to see the corpse. Luna had been watching over him as she tended to her duties- and when Celestia came back, the bitch dared tell her that her best friend and lover had disintegrated of unknown causes.

Celestia knew what had happened. Luna had been trying to convince her for days that she should put him out of his misery. Celestia could see that she had taken matters into her own hands.

And she'd called on the Elements to destroy her sister for this offence.

But they had failed her, had insisted on merely expelling her until there was such a time that they could talk it over in a reasoned manner. Celestia then saw-

They had been in on it too.

And she became convinced it was not only a plot to kill her most dear and beloved, but to dispose of her as well. In her fury at deducing this, she sent her guards after them, to bring them back dead or alive. Pinkemenia Diane Pie had come to her willingly, offering her services in exchange for money. She had joined Celestia's guards in the hunt for her former friends, bringing a small band of rejects together and naming the squad PARTY, an acronym that stood for her former passion.

Celestia appreciated the irony, and allowed them to operate mostly independently.

Diane herself captured Lady Rarity and brought back Rainbow Dash's corpse, the Pegusi killed by a road mine planted by one of her own squad. She also brought back the tale of how Twilight had blasted her way through an entire squad of guards, half-killed her own brother, and fled into the Everfree. Fluttershy, too, had escaped, although the circumstances were unclear. Applejack had plowed through the bulk of the forces, killing at least ten and wounding many others, before the mercenary had lost track of her.

Celestia had frozen Rainbow Dash's corpse in time and space with magic and the help of technology, preventing the potentially useful girl from rotting until she'd found a way to bring her back from the dead. It had finally come in the scrolls of Starswirl the Bearded, not exactly the spell she was looking for, but a powerful healing spell that, with some tweaking and the addition of some dark magic she'd picked up during her younger, wilder days, had sufficed just fine. Two years after her death, the Element of Loyalty was brought back from the grave. Celestia had conveniently kept a certain girl she knew had been close to the woman alive, and used her to keep the newly resurrected Element under reign.

Which brought her to this day.

"Do you still love me?" she asked the statue. "Even after all I've done, all the evil I've wrought for the greater good, do you still love me?"

She'd asked this question every day. Not yet had she received an answer.

Tears in her eyes, she turned away.

"I do." a voice came from behind her. "But you must make it right."

She turned, trembling.

All that was there was a statue. Immobile. Cold. Unloving.

And, in her pondering, she realized this was not a bad metaphor for the creature she had become.

Crying at the mess she had created, she turned away, swearing that she would make everything right...

Within the hour, her diseased mind had forgotten the entire affair.


End file.
